VS
THE FIREBIRD
THE FIREBIRD
Diaghilev’s Ballet
1910
The czar's son, Prince Ivan, has an unexpected meeting with ``a fabulous bird with plumage of fire'' during a hunting excursion. In exchange for not being
hunted down by Ivan, the fabulous
Firebird bargains her freedom by giving Ivan a magic feather (The Firebird and
Her Dance). Later, Ivan chances upon an enchanted castle with a courtyard full of lovely maidens (Round Dance of the Princesses). They warn Ivan of the evil Kastchei in the castle who, for his own amusement, turns travelers into stone.
Ivan, undaunted, enters the castle, and is faced by the evil Kastchei. The magic feather shields him from harm, and the Firebird appears, sending Kastchei and
his ogres into a mad dance (Infernal Dance of King Kastchei). The evil ones are left exhausted and eventually destroyed by
the Firebird (Berceuse). Kastchei's victims are freed from their stone spells, and
Ivan wins the hand of a lovely Princess (Finale).
by
Leon Bakst
The Russian Legend
The Firebird
This ballet is based on the legend of the Zhar-Ptitsa, a magical bird with wings of flame that in the end heroically saves the protagonist from his impending demise
at the hand of the evil Kastchei.
Regarded as one of music’s consummate geniuses, Stravinsky’s interpretation of Diaghilev’s 1910 ballet is as magnificent as the fiery plumage of its firebird. Its debut
on June 25, 1910 fired Stravinsky like a cannonball into international acclaim.
Stravinsky's creed was
"I cannot compose, until I have decided what problem I must solve."
of a set of notes placed in logical order according to certain interval relationships, seems to consistently match the emotions and movement
of the dancers on stage.
DECADANCE THEATRE
Meet Iva, a young girl in the inner city whose youthful exuberance keeps her blissfully ignorant of the potential dangers around her. One day, in the midst of exploring her surroundings, she meets an unlikely companion who will prove to be an even more unlikely savior - a dazzling creature known only as the Firebird through which Iva can see all things that are possible. As Iva encounters a series
of challenges -- evil b-girl antagonists, a shifting chain link fence, confounding forests -- she will need the Firebird's light to find her way out.
Decadance Vs. The Firebird is an urban ballet for the 21st Century. Mashing up Stravinsky's score with original, hip-hop beats, fusing breakdancing with ballet, and remixing the classic story into a contemporary text, the all-female cast challenges the ballet convention of a 'handsome prince' and instead creates a world where women battle for the right
to rule the dance floor.
vs
THE FIREBIRD
A HIP-HOP BALLET
2004
''Ms. Weber is onto something - a performance that is intensely emotional and casually streetwise' -
Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times
Her leading dancers bring - dare I say? - the feminine mystique to hip-hop. They suspend the expected fierce staccato moves in a matrix of lush fluency and add a dimension of alluring mystery to the form's conventional tough, streetwise attitude.'
Tobi Tobias, The Village Voice
